We were unsure what to do about the vampires, but we knew that Ireena was still in danger. Oddly, Janlynn seemed to be inferring that Ireena should not be at the top of the list as a course of action. I got the impression that she felt that we had already completed any debt to her and there were more important matters to attend to. I found this quite troubling, and another example of how this blasted place hardens our souls. I continue to fear for Janlynn and feel that I have not been as good a friend to her as I could be, for I feel my own soul weighing down upon me in this dark land.
I feel saddened that we had lost Ismark through our travels as I had begun to see our charges as actual friends, who fought alongside us and were some of the only people in this land who wanted to see a change; who wanted to thwart Strahd. I feel of Ireena as a comrade and if she is in danger then we must try and rescue her no matter what the danger. The rest of the group thought seeking out Ireena as the best course of action as well.
We went to the Baron's mansion to seek audience with Ireena. Upon arrival we were met at the door by a guard and, after a few minutes in the rain, were brought into the sitting room to eventually meet with the Baroness, as the Baron was busy. The Lady seemed confused as to whom we were asking about until we made it clear that it was the burgomaster's daughter from Barovia, and she knew who we were speaking of. The Baroness knew nothing about Ireena being brought to the mansion. My feeling was that this strange smiling woman honestly did not know anything about the whereabouts of Ireena. She said that we could meet with the Baron tomorrow morning if we wished.
We were stymied - where was Ireena?! We went to the Blue Water Inn to see what we could learn there, hoping to run into Ernst Larnack there. He was there and as we sat about enjoying the local Barovian wine, we asked some questions. He mentioned that he knew people who might be interested in purchasing any magical objects that we may have discovered in our travels. We told him some of the tale of our vanquishing of the Durst's haunted house and the strange items we discovered there. He seemed somewhat interested in these strange things and said he would enquire about their sale with his contacts.
Uphir, in her straight forward manner, asked Ernst straight out if he could be trusted and where he stood on things here in this evil land. The impression he left us with was that he was self-interested and would use people for what he could get out of them as long as there was some profit involved. This wasn't what we were hoping for, but perhaps he was not directly involved with our enemy.
Nim, Tetsuo and Janlynn had gone to the church and there had learned some interesting things. Questioning Lucien about Ireena's escort from the church, he said it was the Baron's men - led by Izek Strasni, the captain of the guard. This was the strange soldier seen earlier who had a strange dragon-like hand. They also learned that father Lucien was the brother of the Baroness and this left them questioning whether the priest could be trusted. Had we been putting our trust into the wrong people all along? Can anyone be trusted here??
Akkiir had taken the time to speak with the Innkeeper, Danika Martikov, and felt that he could trust her. Swarms of ravens seemed to always roost upon the inn, and she displayed raven feathers in her hair, so perhaps she could be trusted. He asked her many questions and from her responses Akkiir felt that finally we had found someone who knew what we were about and seemed to want to help. They said they would look into the disappearance of Ireena and see what they could find out.
We had run out of options in our search for Ireena, so we decided that we had better deal with the largest threat to Vallaki - the vampires in the crates. We investigated the grounds and shed behind the coffin-maker's shop to see if there was a place to bring the crates and one-by-one destroy the vampires separately. There did not seem to be any good options there, but perhaps we could bring them downstairs and do the
deed there. As soon as we got to the door to the shop a raven excitedly landed upon the doorframe and I could understand it's dire warning - "Doom" it said. It also mentioned the Blue Water Inn and seemed that it wanted us to go to the Inn and not attack the vampires for it would be our doom.
Feeling that this was a raven of providence, we followed it's advice. I looked back upon the shadowed windows of the coffin-maker's shop with a tightening feeling in my stomach. We were perhaps avoiding our doom, but we were certainly leaving behind a threat that would need to be dealt with, and if we were not ready now, would we ever be?
Arriving at the Inn, we purchased rooms and went up the exterior stairs to our rooms. The lasses had a room to themselves and us lads had another. Soon we met together in one room and met the Innkeeper Danika Martikov and her husband Irwin. We learned that they were in fact the ones who had been helping us along the way through their raven friends. They had left the supplies outside the windmill! Finally we had someone who we could trust not only for their words, but for their deeds already done. We had allies!
We learned that Ernst could not be trusted. He worked for Fiona Wachter, the head of an old and prominent family in Vallaki. She had long ago declared that she would rather serve the devil than a fool and a madman (In reference to the Baron). She wields enough power that the Baron fears her. The Wachter house is the house where we had seen a strange girl crawling in and out of a window earlier. This girl was Fiona's mad daughter, whom we call the cat girl. Fiona's other children are Nicholoai and Carl, who are purported to be the town bullies, doing as they wish wherever they go.
Danika said that they had learned that Ireena had been seen being led out the west gate of Vallaki, in the direction of Krezk. Izek Stasni was leading that escort. If it is indeed Krezk where they had taken her, that is also the supposed place where Visilli can be found. Perhaps this merchant has more involvement in our dealings than just stealing bones and crating vampires.
The Story of Izek Strasni, Captain of the Baron's Guard
They say when he was a young man, he was fishing in lake Zarovich when a terrible tragedy befell him. He was attacked by a monster of unknown sort who had taken his arm as it's meal. In the panic of the attack, Izek's sister fled into the woods to escape the monster and became lost. She was never found either dead or alive.
Izek's parents were said to have died in grief at the loss of their beloved daughter. Izek grew up to be a cruel man and proficient killer. After many years of honing his skills in death and murder, he was captured and brought before the Baron. The Baron welcomed him into his home and took him on as a valued soldier. Izek has now spent many years working for the Baron and doing his dirty work.
Inexplicably, upon waking one morn, he found that his missing arm had grown back during the night, but rather than a human arm it was a strange and scaly reptilian appendage. He was lived with this strange curse ever since. He has now become the Captain of the Guard in Vallaki, and rightfully feared for his cursed past as well as his blood-chilling cruelty.
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